Creative Tourist Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the world was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic, consumers changed their lifestyles, becoming increasingly home-based and preferring consumption habits that facilitate a healthy life. Consequently, in numerous service industries that target on-site consumption, businesses were suspended, and because creative tourism emphasizes on-site tourism experiences, it was also substantially affected. Few studies have explored the consumer behaviors of creative tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to characterize creative tourists and investigate their decisions and motivations to participate in creative tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Data were collected at six creative-tourism attractions, and convenience sampling was applied to perform a survey. The results revealed that women were predominant among creative tourists and that most tourists who traveled with their family members to creative tourism destinations were middle-aged, highly educated and middle-income or higher-income earners. Among the various characteristics of tourist behaviors, the three key factors that influenced decision-making were local characteristics, the atmosphere of a creative tourism destination, and personalized experiences pertaining to handmade products. By contrast, on-site COVID-19 prevention facilities were regarded as less important by tourists. These findings can facilitate the deployment of creative tourism management strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.